Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) known simply as Drones have changed the face of the modern warfare, which has become more complex, in addition to giving you the capability to target your enemy from within your own air space or land boundaries.
India too has adopted this latest technological innovation and has armed its drone arsenal, the same holds true for its arch enemy – Pakistan.
Post-Operation Sindoor on May 8, both countries launched drone attacks against each other, on May 8 and 9. According to latest reports Pakistan launched a massive strike consisting of drones and missiles, including a Fattah-1 missile, at India in a pre-dawn strike on Saturday (May 10) under what Pakistani media called Operation Bunyan-ul Marsoos. The firing of the Fattah-1 ballistic missile came as Pakistan escalated the situation a day earlier targeting 26 locations in India with drones and missiles after India’s Operation Sindoor.
Radio Pakistan reported that “Pakistan has started ‘Operation Bunyan-ul Marsoos’. “Bunyan-ul Marsoos” is an Arabic phrase which directly translates into ‘a structure made of lead’.
Pakistan said their targets on Saturday were Pathankot military air field and the BrahMos missile storage site in the Indian state of Punjab as well as Udhampur air force base near Jammu. Explosions and shelling from anti-aircraft guns was heard in the vicinity of all the sites. Loud explosions were also heard in Srinagar.
On its part, the Pakistani military has claimed that Indian missiles and drones targetted several places in Pakistan. Reportedly, the blasts occurred at three air force installations, including the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, a key site less than 10 kilometres from Islamabad and adjacent to the country’s military headquarters.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Unmanned Aerial systems (UAS) known simply as Drones have changed the face of the modern warfare, which has become more complex, in addition to giving you the capability to target your enemy from within your own air space or land boundaries
Multiple videos circulating on Pakistani media and social media purportedly show the Nur Khan Air Base on fire following a huge explosion. The Nur Khan facility, formerly known as Chaklala Air Base, is one of Pakistan’s most sensitive military compounds, housing both air force operations and VIP transport units.
According to the Pakistani military, besides the Nur Khan air base, the Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of Punjab province have also been hit.
Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the military has its headquarters, is around 10km from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. In the aftermath of the strikes, Pakistan shut down its air space.
Meanwhile at the Special Briefing at the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi on Saturday (May 10), India firmly rejected Pakistani claims of major damage to its military infrastructure following coordinated cross-border strikes launched overnight.
Senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Army, and Indian Air Force jointly addressed the media on the hostilities along the western front, describing Pakistan’s actions as “provocative” but claiming Indian forces had responded “calmly, proportionately, and effectively.”
According to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Pakistani military began an offensive late Friday night, deploying a combination of high-speed missiles, drones, loitering munitions, and fixed-wing fighter aircraft. “At approximately 1:40 am, high-speed missiles were launched towards a critical Indian Air Force base in Punjab,” Col Qureshi said, adding that attacks were also carried out on air force stations in Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, and Bathinda.
Col Qureshi said India’s air defence systems intercepted several projectiles, but admitted that some installations sustained limited damage. India neutralised many dangers, but Pakistan tried to infiltrate via Air at more than 26 places, and they damaged our equipment and personnel at air force bases in Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, Bathinda, she admitted.
She further noted that the Pakistani Army had attempted to infiltrate Indian airspace at more than 26 locations overnight. “These included attempted drone incursions and sightings of armed UAVs in Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Jammu, Pathankot, Bhuj, and Jaisalmer,” she said. Indian forces responded with a mix of kinetic intercepts and radar-guided countermeasures.
The successful use of drones in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has amply demonstrated that drones can destroy much larger targets, costly fighter planes and naval ships at a fraction of the cost and time needed to destroy them using the conventional means
“They attacked health facilities and schools in Srinagar, Avantipora, and Udhampur. These actions represent a dangerous escalation that violates every accepted convention,” she added.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the IAF described India’s response as “swift and calibrated,” clarifying that counter-strikes were limited to verified military targets within Pakistan. Wing Commander Singh accused the Pakistani military of concurrently launching a misinformation campaign.
“Pakistan has also attempted to execute a continued malicious misinformation campaign, with claims of destruction of the Indian S-400 system, destruction of airfields at Surat and Sirsa… India unequivocally rejects these false claims being spread by Pakistan,” she said.
Earlier on Thursday-Friday night (May 9), in response to a massive done attack from Pakistan, Indian forces targeted air defence radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan Indian MoD said in a statement, that the “Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan.”
Pakistan claims to have shot down 25 Israeli-made drones from India at multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected, Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.
On the other hand, India claims that Pakistan fired 300 to 400 Turkish drones in late Thursday (May 8) night attacks on Indian military installations in or near 36 towns or cities across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab – from Srinagar to Jaisalmer, and Pathankot – Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said in a press briefing on Friday (May 9) evening.
If indeed the claims of both the countries are confirmed then it may provide a completely new dimension to the way any future war might be fought in the south Asia.
The successful use of drones in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has amply demonstrated that drones can destroy much larger targets, costly fighter planes and naval ships at a fraction of the cost and time needed to destroy them using the conventional means.
Over the past decade both India and Pakistan have added to their drone arsenal and air defence systems, the success of the Indian air defence system deploying the Russian made S-400 and indigenously built Akash system have amply demonstrated the prowess of the Indian Army
Drones: Are They The Future?
Does this mean that future wars will be drone-based only? No, but the drones are going to be an essential and effective weapon in any future war, now.
Over the past decade both India and Pakistan have added to their drone arsenal and air defence systems, the success of the Indian air defence system deploying the Russian made S-400 and indigenously built Akash system have amply demonstrated the prowess of the Indian Army.
Basically, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using laser-guided missiles and bombs, in addition to becoming a critical asset in modern warfare, significantly enhances the precision and efficiency of military operations.
According to the website warpowerpakistan.com, the modern Pakistani Drone Force numbering 300 consists of both foreign and local solutions with primary contributions made by Pakistani defence players as well as regional ally China. Of note is the quantitative stock of Chinese Wing Loong II attack drones which are fielded alongside the Turkish Anka type. Balance is achieved with general reconnaissance and recon-attack models.
On the other hand, India’s drone inventory of medium altitude long endurance drones was thrice that of Pakistan until 2024. While India had 200 of these medium altitude long endurance drones, Pakistan’s total inventory was just 60, data from the International Centre for Peace Studies (ICPS) shows.
Similarly, SIPRI data puts Indian aircraft numbers at 480 compared with 300 for Pakistan. Until 2020, numbers from Drone Databook show that India’s drone inventory was among the top 10 nations in the world. Till 2020, India held 600 drones compared with 1,421 for Turkey, 1,050 for Russia and 13,710 for the US. Nearly 102 countries in the world had drone inventory in 2020.
Reportedly, India used loitering munitions or “kamikaze drones” in the May 7 strike, reports have said. These drones are used for surveillance, target acquisition, and terminal strike roles. These drone systems hover over target areas and either autonomously or under remote control identify and eliminate threats.
The massive use of drones from both India and Pakistan in their latest escalation proves that resembling the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Palestine-Israel conflicts, henceforth every new conflict will adopt a drone strategy against its opponent
The massive use of drones from both India and Pakistan in their latest escalation proves that resembling the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Palestine-Israel conflicts, henceforth every new conflict will adopt a drone strategy against its opponent.
The raison d’être for this stems from the fact that drones offer you the advantage of engaging with your adversary at a lower financial and human cost. The drones costing anything from a couple of thousands of dollars to say million of dollars have proved their mettle by destroying expensive fighter planes and naval ships costing billions of dollars. So, the cost ratio works excellently besides ensuring the lives of your soldiers and also affords you the luxury of launching an attack from the confines of your own border area besides precision of targeting.
Over the last decade, both India and Pakistan have added substantially to their drone arsenal. Though Pakistan relies on supplies from China and Turkey, India has successfully tapped its defence manufacturing units of the private sector, working in conjunction with the state-managed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The private sector drone manufacturers have delivered beyond expectations, as now the Indian drone manufacturers are producing drones of every shape and size, adding to the country’s defence might. It would be a step in the right direction if after the de-escalation of the current situation, the government may take a relook at its Drone Policy, and make it easier for the Indian companies to obtain different permissions and licenses, in addition to spending more on R&D to improve and expand their product line.
-The writer is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on international and strategic affairs, environmental issues, an interfaith practitioner, and a media consultant. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily carry the views of Raksha Anirveda
